Principal Firmware Engineer

About the role

Boston Engineering is where innovative ideas become real-world technologies. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, we've spent more than 30 years partnering with commercial and government clients to solve complex engineering challenges and bring breakthrough products to market. From advanced robotics and autonomous systems to medical devices, digital solutions, defense technologies, and industrial automation, our teams work on meaningful projects that push the boundaries of what's possible. The company integrates advanced technologies with practical engineering execution, delivering end-to-end services from concept through commercialization. Boston Engineering combines technical rigor, cross-disciplinary teams, and proven processes to accelerate product development and to solve complex challenges. The company is ISO-certified and CMMC-certified, with a commitment to operational excellence, innovation, and measurable client outcomes. Its mission is to improve the way people work and live through innovative product development and novel engineering.

Responsibilities

• Perform hands-on Principal Firmware Engineer work focused on embedded and firmware development: RTOS-based systems, hardware bring-up, driver development, board-level debugging, and close collaboration with electrical and mechanical teams.
• Own embedded software at tactical and strategic levels, ensuring correct architecture, early risk identification, and unblocking the broader team when challenges arise.
• Set technical direction, streamline and document software processes, establish best practices, and raise the embedded engineering bar across projects.
• Allocate effort approximately: 40% technical hands‑on keyboard work, 30% systems design, 15% integration/manufacturing/production support, 15% mentoring, code/design reviews, and process improvement.

Requirements

• Must be a US person (US citizen, permanent resident, or other protected individual under 8 USC 1324b(a)(3)) due to export‑controlled technology access; proof of status required prior to employment.
• Proven ability to lead the design, development, and optimization of embedded and firmware systems for robotics, autonomous, or maritime platforms.
• Experience streamlining and documenting software processes to accelerate projects while maintaining high‑quality standards.
• Skill in architecting and implementing firmware tightly integrated with custom hardware, sensors, and control systems.
• Proficiency writing and reviewing RTOS‑based firmware (FreeRTOS, ROS2, Zephyr), including task design, synchronization, memory management, and timing analysis.
• Ability to review schematics and PCB layouts to identify firmware impacts, integration risks, and potential design issues early.
• Experience debugging complex system issues using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and other bench tools, determining root cause across software, firmware, and hardware.
• Capability to build and maintain benchtop development setups (“roadkills”) to enable early firmware development prior to final hardware availability.
• Ensure firmware meets real‑time performance, reliability, and mission‑critical requirements.
• Lead technical design reviews, architecture discussions, and roadmap planning with a focus on system‑level risk and